What happens to unused OBC?

[Infi]

I was lucky enough to get a price drop on my upcoming sailing this morning, and my TA credited it back to me as OBC. Now, I've gotten OBC from TAs before but have always managed to use it up on tips, specialty restaurant, etc. but this time I don't think I'll be able to use it all up. So what happens to it? Will it be credited back to my account at the end of the cruise automatically? Or do I need to do some paperwork or something to get it back?

 

Thanks, all!

[Lois R]

I was lucky enough to get a price drop on my upcoming sailing this morning, and my TA credited it back to me as OBC. Now, I've gotten OBC from TAs before but have always managed to use it up on tips, specialty restaurant, etc. but this time I don't think I'll be able to use it all up. So what happens to it? Will it be credited back to my account at the end of the cruise automatically? Or do I need to do some paperwork or something to get it back?

 

Thanks, all!

 

Hi:) I had credit left on my account recently (I sailed on Mercury

Sept 6th). Guest Relations was very helpful and they gave me

the cash back:D. Of course If I had bought a few more drinks

I could have used it all up;)

Seriously, they said they would put back on my credit card or

I could have the cash. So, I chose the greenbacks;)

[cruiserbryce]

our OBC's typically get used up with no problem...just the gratuities alone take up a fair portion of them

[patseacruiser]

You need to ask your TA. Sometimes it says obc is non-refundable if unused. If so, just take it at the casino. You'll pay 3% but it's better than not losing it completely.

[raymay]

I just got off the Millenium last week and had a credit where I was advised that if I didn't use it I would loose it.

[Infi]

Thanks everyone for your responses...to be honest, I'm surprised the responses are so varied. Does it vary based on where your OBC came from (TA, price drop, shareholder, etc.)? I did ask my TA when I got the price drop, and he said that he thought so.

 

Since it seems like there's no definitive answer, I guess I should call Celebrity. Although sometimes their customer service ends up confusing things more than it's worth. :rolleyes:

[Denny01]

You can't really say an 'OBC' is or isn't refunded if not fully used. It depends on what type, what source is the OBC.

 

Here are the OBC's I know about and what happens to them:

 

- RCL Stockholders OBC. It's a 'benefit', so unused portion not refundable.

 

- TA OBC. You need to ask your TA, but normally, if it is an OBC for signing with the TA, a 'benefit', unused portion not refundable.

 

- Refunds added as OBC's, such as when you cancel a prepaid tour and it is added t your OBC. It is refunded if not used.

 

- Charge card 'coupons' added to OBCs. Unused portion is refunded.

 

Now for the OP: agree OP needs to call TA, but since the added OBC isn't a 'benefit' provided by the TA, but it's your refunded money because it resulted from a price drop, it should be refunded if not fully used.

 

The general idea is, if it was 'your money' then the unused portion will be refunded to you. If it is some type of benefit given for owning stock, signing with a TA, then you loose unused OBC.

 

Also, as I understand from other posts, not 1st hand, if you have a 'mix' of 'benefit' and 'your money' OBCs, the nonrefundable type OBCs are used 1st and any left should be refunded if all the nonrefundable OBC is used.

 

Boy, was that a mouthful. And hopefully isn't bad info. Anybody who knows of other type OBCs that might help us more fully understand how it's done, chime in. Or if I've put out bad info and you know that 1st hand, correct my info.I think my gouge is good though.

 

Denny

[Peregrina651]

If I were getting a refund from the cruiseline, I would want it credited back to my credit card immediately--especially if it was a good-sized chunk of cash that I do not expect to spend. It is my money and I would rather have it in my bank account earning interest for me --not for the cruiseline. Moreover, why should I have to go through the hassle of getting back after the cruise.

 

Think of it this way: Accepting a refund as an OBC is making an interest free loan to the cruise lines.

[DougK]

Anybody who knows of other type OBCs that might help us more fully understand how it's done, chime in.

 

I'll throw one more into the mix. I think Celebrity sometimes provides TA's with OBC's for various reasons. And then the TA can turn around and pass it on to whatever customer they want -- but it may be nonrefundable, unlike OBC's purchased by the TA for customers.

 

At least that's my best guess from looking at my account on the cruise I recently ended. Celebrity now lists credits in the account review as either OBR (refundable) or OBN (nonrefundable). I was expecting to see one OBR from my TA, and one OBN (shareholder credit), but I actually had 3 credits. The shareholder credit was listing as OBN Promotional, and the amount my TA had promised me was broken into two: one OBR Individual, and one OBN Gap Compensation. The total amount was right, so I'm just guessing that my TA provided some credit out of his pocket, and some that Celebrity had given him for some reason. I also may not have the labels exactly right; my recollection is that they were complete when I looked at the account review on the TV, but they're clipped on the printout, so I'm taking my best guess.

 

Doug

[Seagalca]

GAP onboard credit is what you are given because you are part of a group & your TA chose to give a shipboard credit to the cabins in her/his group. The money comes from the cruise line. Of course the TA could have elected to keep the money for herself.

Not to be the devils advocate, but no other cruise line but RCCL/Celebrity gives a refund of any sort after final payment. Final is final. RCCL/Celebrity used to give a refund back to your credit card if your category price was lowered before you sailed & you or your TA told RCCL to lower the price. Now they have a new policy, they put the credit on your shipboard account as OBC. It is not a refund to your CC, but you do benefit with the OBC & they are still doing way more than the other lines. Apparently this OBC is refundable.

Carnival has a new program & will give you an OBC, but you have to make a booking where the deposit is non-refundable & non-transferable. So RCCL is still way more generous.

[drakes2]

I can't speak for Celebrity but this is what I had on my recent B2B on Princess earlier this year:

OBC from TA as part of a group booking + 2 bottles of wine

Personal OBC from TA (I think came out of his own pocket)

OBC from cruise line from FCC booked in 2008

OBC from cruiseline due to ship going to drydock and I had to rebook for another date. All of this came to quite a substantial amount as we were onboard for 2 weeks. The only charges were for a coke card, a couple of martinis, gratuities and a few odd items. A large amount of CASH was refunded to me the evening before debarkation which I'm spending on my upcoming cruise next March.

PS. I DRANK THE WINE! :)

Happy Sailing!

GAP onboard credit is what you are given because you are part of a group & your TA chose to give a shipboard credit to the cabins in her/his group. The money comes from the cruise line. Of course the TA could have elected to keep the money for herself.

Not to be the devils advocate, but no other cruise line but RCCL/Celebrity gives a refund of any sort after final payment. Final is final. RCCL/Celebrity used to give a refund back to your credit card if your category price was lowered before you sailed & you or your TA told RCCL to lower the price. Now they have a new policy, they put the credit on your shipboard account as OBC. It is not a refund to your CC, but you do benefit with the OBC & they are still doing way more than the other lines. Apparently this OBC is refundable.

Carnival has a new program & will give you an OBC, but you have to make a booking where the deposit is non-refundable & non-transferable. So RCCL is still way more generous.

[DougK]

GAP onboard credit is what you are given because you are part of a group & your TA chose to give a shipboard credit to the cabins in her/his group. The money comes from the cruise line. Of course the TA could have elected to keep the money for herself.

 

Interesting. I was not part of any group, so all I can guess is that my TA had another group on board that he silently added me to. Although my reservation continued to look just like the individual reservation it was when I originally made it on Celebrity prior to transferring it to the TA. Maybe he had the GAP credit from a different booking in some way.

 

Doug

[Cindy G]

Denny01...you stated it perfectly and so much better than I could have done.

 

Peregrina...please refer to Seagalca's comments. Celebrity is being very generous. Maybe you could reconsider your stand on things.

[Jimjam]

Any OBC I have ever received on any cruise line has always been credited towards my ON BOARD CHARGES which ALWAYS has far exceded any OBC. I can see if an OBC of many, many hundred or even thousands of dollars could be questioned as to why and from whom did this very large OBC come from !!! The largest OBC I have ever received was $250 plus some free internet use and was simply credited towards my on board charges for the cruise.

[Denny01]

From DougK: Celebrity now lists credits in the account review as either OBR (refundable) or OBN (nonrefundable).

 

That is great info for all of us. The 'N' and 'R' are not on the pre-cruise Invoice (at least not mine), but sounds like it is on the onboard listing. That is very handy so you know how much must be expended (darn the luck, need to order another Mojito...wine..Martini) and what is refundable by looking at your On Board account. Neat.

 

Thank Doug.

 

Denny

[A Sixth?]

I know I'm being nosey, but I have to ask... how much is the OBC they gave you and how many nights is the cruise? :confused:

 

I always thought OBC were use it or loose it.

[LongTimeTvlr]

On a recent Solstice cruise we had a $200 Stockholder OBC and a $300 Travel Agent OBC.

We had already pre-paid our excursions and knew the gratuities would be about $250, so was wondering what would happen if we did not cover the $500.

I checked with the pursers office early on and was told that the Stockholder OBC was non-refundable, but the TA OBC was. They also told me the system would automatically charge against the non-refundable OBC first and any remaining refundable OBC would be credited back to my registered credit card.

 

This is exactly what happened. Within a week of returning home my charge card account showed the credit.

[Lois R]

I know I'm being nosey, but I have to ask... how much is the OBC they gave you and how many nights is the cruise? :confused:

 

I always thought OBC were use it or loose it.

 

Nope, I did not use up all of mine and I got what was left back

in cash.

[Hamburg Avon Lady]

:) If you are unsure as to whether you will receive a credit back to the credit card you used to pay for the cruise -- the morning of the last full

cruise day -- check your account. After calculating how much you will

need for gratuities -- go to the casino and draw out the remaining OBC's

in cash -- you will be charged 3% per $ 100 for the refund. But, hey, $ 3 is not much to lose. For ex. $ 100 in OBC'S - $ 3 (% fee) = $ 97 CASH in

your pocket. We had substantial OBC's for our South American cruise this

past Jan. --- did this 4 or 5 times --- and used the cash to pay for our

private shore excursions. :cool:

[Infi]

Thanks everyone for your help. Special thanks to Denny01 for his great explanation of the different OBC types.

 

Since this is "refund OBC" (from a price drop), I suppose I'll be getting this back on my credit card at the end of the trip.

A Sixth?: Since you asked - it's $300 OBC for a 4 night Equinox cruise. Some will go to tips, of course, but since we don't buy sodas/drinks or spend much aboard, I can't imagine using up all that money in 4 days. We'll see though! ;) it's good to have the knowledge regardless.

[Denny01]

Thanks everyone for your help. Special thanks to Denny01 for his great explanation of the different OBC types.

 

Since this is "refund OBC" (from a price drop), I suppose I'll be getting this back on my credit card at the end of the trip.

A Sixth?: Since you asked - it's $300 OBC for a 4 night Equinox cruise. Some will go to tips, of course, but since we don't buy sodas/drinks or spend much aboard, I can't imagine using up all that money in 4 days. We'll see though! ;) it's good to have the knowledge regardless.

 

I have a solution for anyone concerned that they will have excess OBC's and may not get it back - cruise with me and I'll use your charge number and run up a fine, hefty bill! I'll be more then happy to help you out - I'm just that kind of guy.

 

Infi - Have a great cruise. Looks like you have a number of interesting cruises coming up. This is a very handy thread even for us 'know-it-alls'. I learned about the 'OBN' and 'OBR' codes!

 

Denny